Charles inhaled the cigar smoke wafting towards him. A warm ecstasy spread through him. Slowly, his eyes turned upwards—towards the ceiling.
"That one…" Jacquet commented.
Whether he was asking or deducing, Charles couldn't tell.
There, right above him, holding the chandelier aloft was a pair of antlers attached to an enormous head.
"The biggest beast to have ever been spotted in the wilds. And I…"
He exhaled a cloud of smoke and watched as it floated up.
"…hunted it."
Charles felt shivers on his fingers.
Those words were full of an indescribable faith. It sounded as if they were meant to be, as if there couldn't possibly be another way between a man and a beast.
"Rosary. That's its name."
The ashy black antlers of the white beast had ridges across its entire surface. They were sharp and sturdy. If they were to fall, the chandelier would come down, and the pair of men would be dead.
"I spent a year searching for it…"
